You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you’ve got. This saying couldn’t apply any better than it does to Ali. Barely 16 years of age, Ali Ghanem Abbas, a Lebanese beneficiary of the “Learning and Skills Program for Lebanese Youth and Syrian Refugees,” who lives in Howsh Rafiqa, Baalbeck-Hermel cadaster, courageously and with almost complete understanding of what the future holds, accepted to take on the full responsibility of taking care of his family even though his parents are still alive. So what is so special about Ali’s life?
A couple of months ago, Ali was an outgoing kid who had no worries but to hang around carelessly with an ultimate goal of saving up money to purchase a motorcycle. His dad, 60 years old, is unemployed, in better words incapable of working anymore, and his mom is chronically ill and of permanent need of medicine. Ali has five more siblings; his twin sisters were paralyzed due to a pre-birth damage in the nervous system. His oldest brother, 18 years old, whom all the family’s reliance was upon, was hit by a car and passed away last June. The only available source of income was Ali’s older sister who works at a juice factory, and still the wage she earns is barely enough. When Ali’s mother heard of the “Learning and Skills Program for Lebanese Youth and Syrian Refugees” implemented by UNICEF and LOST, Ali started attending right away.
He signed up to the Competency-Based Skills (CBS) training and started taking hairdressing lessons. When asked for the reason which led him to choose this training in specific, he replied, “I was in a desperate need to find a job as fast as I could so that I would be able to help my family.” As soon as he took grasp of hairdressing skills, he borrowed hairdressing tools from his uncle and started his “business” as a barber in the neighborhood. “When I first started, I wasn’t charging my customers, but in two weeks I did haircuts for almost 25 people and was able to provide some financial support home,” Ali said.
What is really surprising the awareness and strength Ali has deep within, since what is expected of any kid in his age, exposed to what he has been through, is to fall into grief and despair and surrender. Ali said, “My brother’s departure is still intolerable, but I have to face reality; my parents won’t be available forever and the responsibility of my siblings will eventually fall on me. When I heard of the Vocational Orientation offered at LOST, I knew it was a chance I should take advantage of especially after I failed my final exams because of what happened,” he added. “Before the training I used to be shy and introverted. I didn’t have many friends and I wasn’t comfortable with being friends with Syrian refugees; however, today I am accepting Syrian refugees; my best friend is a Syrian student whom I met at the training.” Ali noted that after passing his exams he will resume hairdressing and hopefully open his own barbershop.
The Life and Skills training program has helped many Lebanese and Syrian youth move a step forward towards a bright promising future, hopefully with better understanding and acceptance of differences and more embracing of common values and goals, with a drive for education and development in a more peaceful worldwide atmosphere where principles of equity and justice prevail.